Twitter/SB Nation GIF

Doug Collins
 
By: Jeff Eisenband -
3/17/2017

Doug Collins added himself to an exclusive group Thursday. He made the March Madness crying club. While watching son Chris win his first NCAA Tournament game as Northwestern coach, Doug sobbed among an ecstatic sea of purple.

Doug's tears were tears of joy, but that is not always the case in March Madness. Emotions are charged, and crying can come in the highest and lowest moments. This list is sure to expand, but thanks to the work of NCAA tournament cameramen, below is the current list of memorable crying scenes in March Madness. 

Doug Collins

Collins is a former No. 1 overall pick, head coach for Michael Jordan's Bulls and Wizards (and the Pistons and 76ers) and hit two of the most stressful free throws in Olympic basketball history.

Doug has been known to show emotion at Northwestern games, and his passion was on full display during Northwestern's first-round win Thursday over Vanderbilt . As the Wildcats closed out a dramatic 68-66 win, Collins let off the waterworks.

Adam Morrison


In 2005-06, Morrison and Gonzaga reached the NCAA Tournament with just three losses, earning a No. 3 seed. The Bulldogs met No. 2 UCLA, loaded with NBA talent (Jordan Farmar, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Ryan Hollins, Arron Afflalo, Darren Collison) in the Sweet Sixteen. Morrison, who shared the National Player of the Year Award with J.J. Redick, delivered a game-high 24 points, but it wasn't enough. UCLA knocked off the Zags, 73-71. Morrison was seen crying twice: first, after Gonzaga fouled UCLA with the Bruins leading 72-71 and 2.6 seconds left and then after the final horn. For better or for worse, Morrison's tears have become an iconic image of March Madness.


Villanova Piccolo Girl


It's easy to forget an NCAA tournament team is made up of more than just the players. The athletic staff, the cheerleaders and of course, the band, come along for the journey throughout the season. In 2014-15, Villanova had a remarkable year, reaching the NCAA tournament at 32-2. However, the Wildcats were shocked by North Carolina State in the second round, 71-68. After the buzzer, the Villanova band kept playing, and the cameras fixated on Roxanne Chalifoux, a senior piccolo player, sounding her instrument one final time.

"My bandmates were crying with me, lots of people were crying!" she told SB Nation the next week. "It was just a coincidence the camera went to me."

Sure.

At least she got to be on The Tonight Show.


And then Villanova won the title the next season.

Ron Hunter


The Georgia State head coach could never have imagined the events of the 2015 NCAA tournament. In the first round against Baylor, the No. 14 seed Panthers upset No. 3 Baylor on a last-second 3-pointer by R.J. Hunter, Ron's son. Ron slipped off his chair in celebration. He later embraced R.J. and tore his Achilles tendon.


The Panthers' dance ended in the second round, at the hands of Xavier. Ron broke down in the postgame press conference when talking about his son. R.J. became the No. 28 overall pick by the Celtics a few months later.

Chris Webber

 

 

This is a bit of off-camera crying. Webber called his infamous timeout with Michigan trailing North Carolina, 73-71, and 11 seconds left in the 1993 national championship game. The resulting technical foul -- the Wolverines had no timeouts left -- clinched victory to the Tar Heels.

Webber showed slight frustration, biting his jersey in the final seconds, but it was in The Fab Five documentary film that revelaed the extent of his emotions. Webber's teammates said he spent the whole bus ride back to the hotel crying on his mom's shoulder.

-- Follow Jeff Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband. Like Jeff Eisenband on Facebook.


Adam Morrison, Chris Collins, Chris Webber, cry, Cryer, Crying, Doug Collins, Fab Five, Georgia State Panthers, Gonzaga Bulldogs, March Madness, March Sadness, Michigan Wolverines, NCAA Tournament, Northwestern Wildcats, RJ Hunter, Ron Hunter, Sobbing, tears, Villanova Piccolo Girl, Villanova Wildcats